Open Daily 9:00am - 5:00pm
BEES
Mason Bees
Available March
If you have fruit trees or any other Spring blooming berry shrubs then you should consider getting yourself some mason bees! They are extremely efficient pollinators, for a couple reasons. For one, they do not travel nearly as far as, say, the honeybee. Honeybees can travel anywhere up to 3 miles in search of a pollen source, whereas the mason bee has a flying radius of only about 300 feet. Therefore, the ideal location for a mason bee house is close to your Spring blooming trees/shrubs. Secondly, the way in which a mason bee collects pollen also makes them very efficient. While the honeybee has pollen 'pockets' located on their legs, mason bees collect pollen dry on the underside of their hairy abdomen and it falls off easily as they travel from flower to flower. What's even better, mason bees are known for being extremely docile and very easy to care for. We have all you need to get started, call or visit us for more details- we'd love to help!
Honeybees
For many years we have hosted Honeybee hives here at the nursery. In 2016 we welcomed Bees in the 'Burbs, a small family run bee company located in Maple Valley. They currently have 11 hives set up at our nursery. We are thrilled to have them here and to sell some of their freshly bottled honey, comb, pollen, and beeswax candles. (stock varies)
HUMMINGBIRDS
We carry a wide array of plants to attract hummingbirds to your garden. They love the color red and are attracted to tubular flowers such as Honeysuckle, Salvia and Monarda.
Feeders
There are lots of fancy feeders out there, but we carry only the simplest of designs because we have found them to be the easiest to clean. Cleaning your feeder is VERY important to the health of Hummingbirds. Fungus easily builds up inside the feeder and if not cleaned properly, will give your Hummingbirds a deadly fungal infection. Your feeder should be cleaned out every 3 days, 2 if the temperature is above 60 degrees. Hot water and a bottle brush is the best way to clean them out, using soap will often leave a residue that will deter the birds.
Hummingbird Feeder Recipe
4 parts water to 1 part white sugar (not Organic)
Bring water and sugar to a boil then take off the heat and let cool completely. Fill hummingbird feeder with cooled solution and store any leftover in the refrigerator. Do not use red dye, it is unnecessary and could be harmful to the birds.
DO NOT USE RED DYE!!